Chimp attack victim Charla Nash hopes for day in court

Rob Varnon

Published 1:00 am, Sunday, February 16, 2014

Charla Nash in a 2007 photo next to the cage with the chimpanzee Travis. Travis mauled Nash in February 2009 leaving her without any hands or eyes. Nash had a full face transplant in May at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Photo: Contributed Photo, ST

Charla Nash in a 2007 photo next to the cage with the chimpanzee...

Charla Nash, second from left, talks with attorneys Matthew D. Newman, second from right and Charles J. Willinger Jr., right, as her brother Stephen, left, looks on before for a hearing at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford, Conn., Friday, Aug. 10, 2012. Nash, who was mauled in a 2009 chimpanzee attack, is attending a hearing to determine whether she may sue the state for $150 million in claimed damages. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
Photo: AP Photo/Jessica Hill, Associated Press

Charla Nash, second from left, talks with attorneys Matthew D....

Charla Nash sits before for a hearing at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford, Conn., Friday, Aug. 10, 2012. Nash who was mauled in a 2009 chimpanzee attack is attending a hearing to determine whether she may sue the state for $150 million in claimed damages. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
Photo: AP Photo/Jessica Hill, Associated Press

Charla Nash sits before for a hearing at the Legislative Office...

FILE - This Oct. 20, 2003 file photo, shows Travis, a 10-year-old chimpanzee, sitting in the corner of his playroom at the home of Sandy and Jerome Herold in Stamford, Conn. Doctors at a Boston hospital have performed a full face transplant on Charla Nash, the Connecticut woman who was mauled two years ago by Travis, who was shot and killed by police. Officials at Brigham and Women's Hospital say they performed the transplant on Nash late last month. (AP Photo/The Stamford Advocate, Kathleen O'Rourke, File) MANDATORY CREDIT
Photo: Kathleen O'Rourke, The Stamford Advocate

STAMFORD -- Charla Nash says her days are spent going to medical appointments, doing physical therapy, listening to books on tape and hoping to live a useful and more independent life, again.

Five years ago, Nash was found lying in a North Stamford driveway after a brutal attack by her boss' pet chimp Travis. Police shot and killed the berserk, 200-pound ape and medical professionals stabilized and evacuated her. She was left severely disfigured and lost her sight and both of her hands as a result of the attack.

She settled a lawsuit with the estate of her now deceased employer, Sandra Herold for $4 million, but Nash had to move into a nursing facility outside of Boston where her medical bills continue to mount and she remains unable to live independently.

She is pursuing a $150 million lawsuit against the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, which was named the Department of Environmental Protection at the time of the attack, claiming it was negligent in failing to address a dangerous situation before the attack.

Nash, through her lawyer, answered a short list of questions by email Friday.

She said she still doesn't know why no one did anything about Travis before he attacked her.

A scare changes rules

Travis was a 14-year-old male chimpanzee that Sandra Herold and her husband, Jerry, had raised since the animal's infancy. They treated the primate as a member of the family. He ate at the dinner table with them and even slept in their bed.

Travis was often seen riding in one of the Herolds' Desire Me Towing and Auto Body tow trucks and had appeared in commercials for several high-profile international brands. In 2003, he escaped the vehicle he was riding in and created a stir in downtown Stamford.

That scare prompted letters from primate experts urging Herold to give the chimpanzee to a specialized facility. The following year, the state amended regulations regarding the registration of primates, requiring any that weigh more than 50 pounds, no matter when they were obtained, to be registered, though Travis never was.

After the attack, the Associated Press reported that a DEP biologist, just four months before the attack, had registered concerns Travis might hurt someone if he felt threatened. Nash herself had told relatives she felt the chimpanzee was dangerous.

Nash was both a friend and an employee of Herold. She worked as a dispatcher for Herold's business. She cleaned out cars that were to be crushed by the company and ran errands for Herold that included buying food for Travis. She even did some welding repairs to Travis' cage. At one point, Nash and Herold discussed opening a deli together.

Sandra Herold died in 2010 while fighting Nash in court.

A preventable attack

Nash has had a face transplant and endured failed hand transplants while trying to recover from the injuries.

She's doing OK these days, but feels isolated, she said via her lawyer, Matthew Newman, of Willinger, Willinger and Bucci.

She is hoping for a successful hand transplant, continues to do physical therapy and tries to stay healthy in order to be ready for future surgeries.

Family and health care workers have been particularly kind and helpful through the ordeal, she said. She said the most difficult thing about her situation is the loneliness, and knowing the attack could have been prevented.

On that point, she said she's hoping to get her day in court before a judge.

But the state of Connecticut enjoys sovereign immunity and as part of that immunity can't be sued without its permission. A special claims commissioner hears cases and decides whether a lawsuit can be filed. In Nash's case, the claims commissioner denied her petition late last year.

"Sometime between next week and the end of March we will appear before them and try to convince at least 23 members that the claims commissioner is wrong and his decision should be reversed and Charla should have her day in court," Willinger said.

Willinger and his firm have represented Nash for years and he said he has a lot of respect for her.

"She's an exceptional, brave woman," the attorney said.

The committee would not award any money, it would just decide whether to give Nash permission to sue the state. Lawmakers would also have to pass legislation to allow the suit to go forward.

"We think we have a very compelling argument showing where the claims commissioner was wrong," Willinger said. He said it is an issue of whether it is just and equitable to sue.

Expert advice unheeded

Willinger said they have evidence, taken over hours of depositions from more than 20 witnesses, that indicates the DEP was the only agency with jurisdiction over Travis and that it failed to heed its own expert's advice in regard to the danger Travis presented. He said there were emails from concerned citizens and changes made to the law that look like they were tailored to Travis' situation.

Attorney General George Jepsen, whose office argued against Nash during the claims process and will argue against her claim before the Judiciary Committee, said on Friday that allowing Nash to sue would set a bad precedent and open the state up to many more suits and possible damages that could tap the public coffers.

The two sides will be arguing over the role and responsibility of government as it enforces or fails to enforce laws.

"The short version is, it is well established law, the state, in enforcing its laws, has a duty to the general public to get it right," Jepsen said. "But they don't have a specific duty to any individual person."

While that will be a key portion of the public hearing, Jepsen questioned whether the state really could have done anything about Travis before the incident.

"It wasn't illegal at that time to own a chimpanzee," he said, noting that under the law as it was written in 2009, Herold could have just gotten a permit. A Department of Environmental Protection action to take away the animal before the attack would not have been guaranteed, either.

"It's an unspeakable tragedy," Jepsen said, and as a result, the laws of the state have been changed.

Hearing likely in March

State Rep. Gerald Fox III, D-Stamford, a co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said the appeal process is not new and the committee hears them regularly. However, he said, due to the high profile nature of this case, instead of lumping it in with other such appeals, the committee would probably hold a special hearing on the matter.

A date for that hearing has not been set, but Fox said it will be held in March. Judiciary has to finish all its business by April 2 and the legislative session ends on May 7.

"What I want is the committee members to ask whatever questions they feel are important to the decision making process," he said of the hearing.

While she waits to see if she will have her day in court against the state, Nash said she's also working to move forward with her life.

Her lawyer said when she was asked what she would like people to know about her today, she said, "I am working to get better and stay healthy, so I can be ready for surgery when the opportunity comes. Also, I am focusing on ways to educate people and government officials about the dangers of owning wild animals."